I'm handy, but new to boat ownership. It looks like my boat took some damage to the bumper(?). I've attached a picture of the damage. How should I fix this?
Thanks for advice!
Thanks for advice!
How should I fix this damaged bumper?
- Thread starter povery
- Start date
Is that a fiberglass rub rail?? If so, you can fill it with a mixture of epoxy and foam, then glass it over. Sand it. Match a gel-coat color, and you're done. Other people may have better methods, but this should work. Not too big a job.
Thanks Scotty!
I believe it is fiberglass. How do I figure out what materials to purchase? Do I need any special tools?
I guess I'll go look for Youtube videos, too.
I believe it is fiberglass. How do I figure out what materials to purchase? Do I need any special tools?
I guess I'll go look for Youtube videos, too.
are you sure the white portion is not rubber? On the O'Day 27' it's rubber. You can find lengths of rub rail on line that fits the profile of the black under portion. You'd have to carefully slice the bad portion out and filet in a new piece which is a bit difficult squeezing the top and bottom into place into the underlying rail. It's doable though. And, it's actually called a rub rail.
It looks to be cosmetic damage only. Notice that the bottom of the rub rail has drain holes in it. Maybe consider it just another drain hole, only larger.
With the boat in the water you probably won't even see it, based on the camera angle.
It should be a white plastic rub rail with black rubber insert. Rudy at D & R Marine, https://www.drmarine.com
can probably set you up with a piece. Call, don't email. I don't know if he has a minimum length he sells or not. Maybe somebody will pop up with a left over piece.
Pull out the black rubber insert a ways, carefully cut out the damaged white plastic piece, insert new and put the rubber back.
Be careful if you try to epoxy a patch. You will be working on the vertical underside of the rub rail. Gravity will not be your friend. Any mistakes may turn into an ugly mess. Rub rail can be replaced if damaged. Once you epoxy a patch, it will be permanent.
O'day 28s are nice boats. Enjoy
With the boat in the water you probably won't even see it, based on the camera angle.
It should be a white plastic rub rail with black rubber insert. Rudy at D & R Marine, https://www.drmarine.com
can probably set you up with a piece. Call, don't email. I don't know if he has a minimum length he sells or not. Maybe somebody will pop up with a left over piece.
Pull out the black rubber insert a ways, carefully cut out the damaged white plastic piece, insert new and put the rubber back.
Be careful if you try to epoxy a patch. You will be working on the vertical underside of the rub rail. Gravity will not be your friend. Any mistakes may turn into an ugly mess. Rub rail can be replaced if damaged. Once you epoxy a patch, it will be permanent.
O'day 28s are nice boats. Enjoy
On second thought.. I think Ward H is correct that it is plastic, not fiberglass. You also make good points about it being having no real impact other than cosmetically.
I'll go take a closer look at it and see how long the pieces are... then I'll give Rudy a call.
Thanks for all of the advice!
I'll go take a closer look at it and see how long the pieces are... then I'll give Rudy a call.
Thanks for all of the advice!
I took a closer look at the rub rail. It is white plastic with the black rubber. The black rubber actually goes around the entire boat, with beginning and end in the middle of the transom. The white, plastic, piece seems like it may be two parts.. I see splits on the top of the white and the bottom, but they don't line up.
I may just leave it, for now. I'll have to take off the entire black rubber piece to really see what's going on with it.
I may just leave it, for now. I'll have to take off the entire black rubber piece to really see what's going on with it.
Here a link to a Web page for plastic repair: https://makezine.com/2017/02/16/plastic-repair/
There are plenty of sites and videos. Use the word 'patch' as part of your search. I think that will help weed out repairs on thin and small piece plastics. The hard part, I think, will be figuring out what type of plastic you need to repair.
- Will (Dragonfly)
It looks like moat O'Days. A white plastic rub rail holder and black rubber insert. I replaced the entire thing on my 23 a couple of years ago. If you go to the trouble of replacing it make sure you check the hull to deck joint and reseal where required. The sealant in the joint was cracked and dried out and leaked in a few places on my '78. D&R was the only place I could find the correct profile unless I wanted to order a thousand feet.
If you want to make the gap in the plastic a little less obvious, you could paint the black that’s showing to match the white plastic.
My O’Day 28 had a crack in the white plastic rub rail where it whacked up against a nasty customs pier in rough weather. I just pushed the edges back together when they occasionally sagged.
My O’Day 28 had a crack in the white plastic rub rail where it whacked up against a nasty customs pier in rough weather. I just pushed the edges back together when they occasionally sagged.
I did a repair to the stern rubrail on my boat. I learned the original plastic base is still manufactured, but only for one customer. Luckily, that one customer is Rudy. And he does sell it in small sections (or did a couple years ago). The tricky part will be the black insert. If you can pop it out around the repair area without cutting it that would be ideal. Then you could re-insert it and it would look better cosmetically. Mild heat helps to make it malleable.
